Empowering women and helping each other heal through amazing birth stories

Aug 22, 2016

Birth story #2

By Rebecca M.

I look back on everything that has occurred in my life and laugh. I have decided that I have minimal control over where life takes me. I am a mother of two and have been with my husband for 18 years now. My husband having been married before didn’t think he could have children. He was eventually tested and was told he had a low sperm count and children wouldn’t be possibly without assistance. I myself had my own issues. I had severe ovarian cysts so I didn’t ovulate on my own and couldn’t tolerate birth control (which suppresses cysts growth) so I had to take a pill every month to make me have my period which also required taking a pregnancy test before taking the pill. Fast forward a surprise pregnancy and the whirlwind that brought, my husband and I couldn’t wait to get pregnant a second time. When my son was 9 months old we began trying. I was exclusively breast feeding so I assumed it wouldn’t happen right away.

I remember it all so clearly. It was August and I would be due for my period the week before my birthday. I was late and I decided what better way to celebrate my birthday than to wait to take a test on my birthday. I did and sadly it was negative. I felt defeated. Somehow I had convinced myself that since it was my birthday then it would be positive. Nope. Instead a couple days later I ended up with a nasty yeast infection which brought me to my OB. Of course what’s the first question all OB’s ask, what is the date of your last period? Of course I had to explain my situation and that I had already taken a pregnancy test. My doctor had suggested taking another one in a couple days if I didn’t get my period. My exhaustion took over and I snapped and told her I was sick of paying for pregnancy test! Keep in mind I use to have to take them every month before I would take a pill to make me have my period. Anyways, my Ob suggested I take one in the office before deciding a route of treatment for me. I did and after a long wait she came in to congratulate me and for a split second I had no clue why she was congratulating me! HAHA

My husband and I were over the moon excited. Here we are pregnant with my second child and we were originally told it wouldn’t happen. My excitement was abruptly halted however. A couple days later my husband was hit by car while directing traffic (he is a police officer). He was fine, nothing extremely serious but enough to scare me. He ended up out of work with a messed up back and knee. His knee required surgery which kept him out of work even longer. While this is going on, my pregnancy is progressing, I am experiencing horrific morning sickness which moves into vaginal discomfort has the baby drops early in my second trimester and I am chasing a two-year-old around. I was exhausted but I really attempted to focus on the prize, my baby.

When I finally did go into labor it was nothing like my first son. I had back pains that would come every 5–10 minutes. It was weird. I finally caved and all my doctor who advised me to go to the hospital.

After my arrival at the hospital it didn’t take long before my contractions were stronger! It’s now 2 am and I am tired. I just want to sleep. I demanded an epidural. With my first child I had an epidural and rested. It was great. That was my plan. I needed rest before my son arrived. No sooner had the anesthesiologist placed the epidural did I really feel the need to go to the bathroom. My doctor overheard me whispering this to my husband and she immediately checked me and said I needed to push. No way! This wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I was tired and just wanted to go to the bathroom. Plus, my epidural hadn’t kicked in yet! Well guess what, my son had his own plans. I pushed maybe 3 or 4 times and he arrived. It was the quickest and most intense labor I had experienced but before I knew it he was here. I couldn’t believe it. It was over in a flash and I was surprised at how great I felt. There were no drugs on board so I had no post medication side effects. I felt amazing. Within 20 minutes or so my son was a little “squirmy” so knowing that babies are most alert the first hour after birth I began to breastfeed him and he took to it like he had been breastfeeding before he was even born. It was amazing. The nurses were blown away with how quick I progressed after my son’s birth. I was able to move to my post delivery room right away. The birth of my second son was one of the most empowering experiences I have ever had. I had to take charge of a lot of areas in my life and it felt great. I never had the issues I had with my first son (scared first time mom syndrome) and it was awesome! This experience has certainty changed my life for the better.